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Monday, March 14, 2011

What to cook this week

Yesterday we got all got home from several days out of town and I could not have been more uninspired to make a meal plan or grocery list. I was tired from loading and unloading mountains of dog, toddler and mama gear, was suffering from a massive allergy attack, and couldn't think of a single thing to add to the husband's grocery list other than a bottle of Kombucha and pork chops (random, but so was my mood). Now, with a night of sleep and a Zyrtec in me, I'm full of ideas! Here are some fabulous dishes for you to try this week...

I made this recipe around the holidays, and as I often do with soups, froze some to save for later. I'm so glad I did, because with my stuffy allergy-head today, I was beyond grateful to have a delicious chicken soup on hand to soothe me without having to do any work at all. I downed a bowl of this for lunch and was reminded of just how fabulous this recipe is; a tasty, healthy soup packed with chicken, white beans and artichokes, this recipe is perfect for the transition into spring when a warm soup sounds great for dinner, but something lighter than a heavy stew is called for...definitely give this recipe a try ASAP.

I made both of these dishes this weekend, and they only furthered my devotion to the one and only Ina (and unlike so many of her recipes, they are both fairly healthy, especially if you do what I did and swap heart-healthy olive oil for the butter in the scallop recipe... it still worked brilliantly). The scallops are light, flavorful and with a to-die-for sauce; the end result tastes like it took hours to prep, but the recipe comes together in about ten minutes. And the rice will be a new household staple, especially for spring. All you essentially do is make a pot of basmati rice and stir in chopped scallions, fresh dill and curly parsley with some fresh ground pepper. Again, so simple, but it looks so elegant with the flecks of green and the herbal flavor really pops. If you have a rice cooker you can set on a timer, and can clean your herbs ahead of time, I'd even call this a weeknight meal.

I haven't made this yet, but spied it over on Cup of Jo this morning. Martha layers sausage, Swiss card and bechamel with noodles and thinly sliced lemons. The result looks so fresh, lovely and like another perfect early spring dish. I'll take Jo's word for it. This recipe is going on the menu plan immediately.

I've told you many times before, but it is worth repeating: semi-homemade Indian food is an almost weekly go-to meal in my house. We never tire of browning some tofu or chicken (tofu more often than not these days), throwing in some veggies (usually fresh spinach, frozen peas, and chopped peppers) and letting it simmer with a Seeds of Change simmer sauce (almost always their Tikka Masala, which must have addictive qualities we're not aware of, since we kind of can't get enough). All of that happens in about 15 minutes, during which time you can boil a pot of basmati rice, or else toast up some garlic or whole wheat naan (we love the Whole Foods 365 brand) and call the whole thing dinner. On nights when you don't feel like cooking but take-out isn't in the cards, this is a perfect happy medium. In fact, Quickie Indian made it on this week's menu plan when I was feeling so "meh" as we tried to think of things to cook; it's our sure-thing slam dunk dinner, and is sure to be your's too. Namaste.